Empowering All Students To Succeed In A Changing World

Principal’s Corner

Mountain View and West Elementary Parent/Guardian(s):

Welcome to another great year at Spearfish Public Schools. Our buildings are in full-swing and

our kids are doing a great job of transitioning back into the school routine. 2017-2018 has

brought fluctuating enrollment to the early grades of the Spearfish School District. Our

kindergarten class has approximately 150 students; 1st grade approximately 180; and 2nd grade

enrollment is nearly 185 students. As class sizes change, so does staffing to ensure appropriate

support and services for all students. We take pride in maintaining effective class sizes.

As in years past, we continue to offer a wide range of exploratory classes providing a well-

rounded experience for your child. Technology, art, library, music, physical education, and

social skills development classes contribute to our well-rounded approach to meet the needs of

our children. These classes are taught in rotation, so be sure to communicate with your child’s

teacher regarding his/her specific schedule and appropriate attire for their classes.

School safety and security continues to be a priority at our schools. In the coming weeks,

Mountain View and West Elementary will conduct fire drills, in addition, in late September we

will conduct the first of our lock-down drills. You will notice if you visit your child’s classroom

that all guests are required to provide a government identification before admittance. The

Raptor system checks visitor credentials against the national sex-offender registry; this process

helps ensure we maintain a safe and appropriate environment in our schools. We appreciate your

patience and support of this program.

We have many great things ahead in the 2017-2018 school year. I encourage you to

communicate early and often with your child’s teacher, and my door is always open to discuss

your child and our school(s). Thank you for your continued support. If there is any way I can

assist your family, please do not hesitate to ask.

Yours in education,

Mountain View/West Elementary Schools

Nick Gottlob, Principal Carole Schaffan, Asst. Principal

525 East Illinois Spearfish, SD 57783

Phone: 605.717.1205; 605.717.1209

Empowering All Students To Succeed In A Changing World

Upcoming Important Dates and Events September 13 Picture Day – Mountain View Elementary by Lifetouch

September 14 Picture Day – West Elementary by Lifetouch

September 22 Teacher Inservice – No School

October 4 Early-Release; Teacher Inservice

October 7 No School – Native American Day

October 16-19 Elementary Parent-Teacher Conferences

October 20 No School

On-Line Lunch Account Management

Spearfish School District facilitates online lunch account management and payment through

EZschoolpay. Once you are registered for this program, and have linked your students, you will

be able to monitor their meal activity. All lunch accounts below $5 will receive a notification.

Accounts below $0 will receive a phone call from the office. Excessively delinquent accounts

are addressed by the Principal.

More information can be found at

http://spearfish.k12.sd.us/District/EZSchoolPay/ezschoolpay_info.html

There’s an app for that Mountain View and West Elementary information is available on the Spearfish District app.

Available through the Apple store or Google Play you can download the Spearfish School

District App. The app will not include the extensive information of the district’s website, but

does give parents access to the most frequently requested information including lunch menus, the

school calendar, staff listings, newsletters, and other information. Parents may sign up for

PUSH Notifications; these push notifications will be delivered like any other app on your smart

phone or other device with the SSD App. School officials will use these sparingly for important

events, reminders or emergency notifications. It is a free app for parents – check it out!

Student Attendance As you know, your child’s attendance is important. Spearfish Schools work closely with parents

to ensure regular attendance in an effort to support the child’s learning and overall experience.

You may not be aware that our schools continue to be accountable for the attendance rate of our

buildings and students. Currently, Mountain View and West maintain over a 95% attendance

rate, which is wonderful. The South Dakota Department of Education targets a 94% attendance

rate requirement. When broken down by student, that equates to attending 164 of the 173

scheduled student contact days. Of course, there are often circumstances that arise – illness,

family emergency, special event, or one of countless circumstances that may interfere with

attending. In these circumstances, we ask that you communicate with your child’s office in a

timely manner to inform them of the expected absence. If you have questions about school

attendance, please contact the office.

Empowering All Students To Succeed In A Changing World

Students with ‘at-risk’ attendance will receive a letter from the office. At-risk attendance is

defined as missing four (4) or more days of attendance in any trimester. Continuing issues may

also result in a meeting with the Principal.

Breakfast Matters!! We ask that you ensure your child eats breakfast every day. If they do not eat at home, they may

eat school breakfast. School breakfast begins at 7:45am and is eligible for free and reduced

lunch programming as well. Please contact your child’s office for application.

School Report Card Available Online Soon Detailed reports of how all students in South Dakota scored may be found by going to the

Department of Education’s Webpage at: http://doe.sd.gov/reportcard/index.aspx and looking at

the state level reports. These reports also include information about how our students did at the

state level on the National Assessment of Educational Progress or NAEP test compared to

students across the country.

District and school level reports may also be found on the same web site by selecting the school

year and the type of report you would like to look at. If you do not have access to the internet

there is a hard copy of the report located in the school office for you to view. For help in getting

to these reports or understanding what is in these reports, please call your child’s school and talk

to the teachers or the principal. Standardized testing occurs in grades 3-8, and grade 11.

2017-2018 School Calendar As a reminder, our school calendar can be found online on the SSD website. Holidays, early-

release dates, parent-teacher conferences, and other important dates are identified. Please

contact your child’s office with any questions.

Student Pick-up and Drop-off

As a reminder, there are specific pick-up and drop-off points at both Mountain View and West

Elementary. Parents are reminded that playground supervision begins at 7:50am in the morning,

and all students are asked to be picked up by 3:00pm at Mountain View, and 3:15pm at West

Elementary. Please note: students arriving to school after 8:15am are asked to be checked in at

the office.

Student Drop-Off:

At Mountain View, please drop off your child on the playground located on the Illinois Street

side of the building. Beginning at 7:45am, our crossing guard and playground supervision staff

is available. Students eating breakfast are let in from the playground door.

At West Elementary, students are to be dropped off on the King Street side of the building. Our

morning crossing guard will ensure a safe route to school from adjacent streets. Please refrain

Empowering All Students To Succeed In A Changing World

from using the bus loading zone in front of the school, as buses are coming and going throughout

the morning.

Student Pickup:

At Mountain View Elementary, Student Pickup is done on the playground on the Illinois Street

side of the school. After sending students to Kids Club, the classroom teachers escorts students

to the buses and finally the playground for parent pickup. Thank you for your patience in this

process.

At West Elementary, Student Pickup is done at the flagpole on the King Street side of the

school. Parents are advised to refrain from parking in front of the school in the bus loading

zone, and not to park in the staff/faculty parking area. Please park along King Street or adjacent

streets.

Mountain View Aerial Map – Pickup and Drop-Off

Empowering All Students To Succeed In A Changing World

West Elementary Aerial Map – Pickup and Drop-Off

Bus Routes 2017-2018

Bus service continues to be provided by Dakota Bus service. Their bus route information is

listed below for your reference. Questions regarding routes, times, and other information can be

directed to Dakota Bus dispatch at 605-642-2353.

AM Routes from School to School:

Bus #1 (Eagle)-West, High

Bus #2 (Deer)-Mt. View, Creekside, West

Bus #3 (Coyote) -Creekside, High, Mt. View

Bus #4 (Trout) -Creekside, High

Bus #5 (Mt. Lion) -High, Creekside

Bus #6 (Antelope) -Mt. View (leaves@7:40), High, West

Bus #7 (Bear) -High, West

Bus #8 (Elk) -West, Creekside

Bus #9 (Turkey) -Mt. View, High, Creekside

Bus #10 (Big Horn) –West, Mt. View

Empowering All Students To Succeed In A Changing World

PM Routes from School to School:

Bus #1 (Eagle)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High

Bus #2 (Deer)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High

Bus #3 (Coyote)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High

Bus #4 (Trout)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High

Bus #5 (Mt. Lion)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High

Bus #6 (Antelope)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High, Mt. View

Bus #7 (Bear)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High, Mt. View

Bus #8 (Elk)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High, West

Bus #9 (Turkey)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High

Bus #10 (Big Horn)- Mt. View, West, Creekside, High, West

Bus Route Stops:

Route #1 Old Belle Fourche Rd- Hwy, 14, Westview, Chicken Creek, Kissack’s, Eymer’s,

Reserve-McGuigan, Redwater Ranch Cattle Guard, Pickup Upper Valley and

College Lane.

Route #2 Crook City- Crook, Airport and Sandstone Additions, Service Road at School

Route #3 Lookout Mt.- East side of Lookout Mountain to 85N to Lagoon. Go left picking

up Brookview Addition, Lower Valley, West Acres and Hubbard Addition.

Paramount 7:10 am

Route #4 Redwater- Hwy 14, Mossing Ln, Chicken Creek to Swanson’s and return by

Spearfish Meadows. South McGuigan Rd (7:30 am) VFW, Spearfish Valley

Mobile Estates, Abernathy Add., Lourie Ln, McGuigan Rd-Riverview Circle

Route # 5 Maitland- Christensen Dr. & Trailer on Maitland Rd to Talon Rd. Return to Mt.

Shadows Court Service Rd. to School.

Route #6 St. Onge- Service Rd. to St. Onge, Hwy. 34 West, Return to Service Rd.

Route # 7 Green Acres- 7th & 32nd, 7th & 33rd, 10th & 34th, 11th & 35th, 10th & 32nd

Route #8 Crow Peak- 1-90 to Exit 2, Sleeps, Bench Rd to Deer Meadows, DeBurg Fuller

Add. Westfield Estates

Route #9 Whitewood- Whitewood, Hwy 34 to Danish Rd. to Hwy 34 to Tetrault Cut

Across to St. Onge Service Rd to Mt. Shadows, West Parking lot by Knecht’s

7:20 am.

Route #10 Sugar Creek- Tumbleweed Drive, Sugar Creek, Hills View Rd., Ken’s Trailer

Park, and College Lane.

Empowering All Students To Succeed In A Changing World

Project Advisory Committee (PAC) Once again, the Mountain View and West Project Advisory Committee (PAC) will work to

support teachers, classroom, and projects outside of the general school budget. Fundraisers,

community engagement events, and other opportunities to support the school-home relations will

be the ongoing focus. Like all fundraisers, there is no obligation and participation is optional.

Student transportation, school supplies, parent engagement events, a family fun run/walk, and

other projects not otherwise funded through the school have been supported through the PAC.

Continued discussions of parent-friendly programming will guide our planning for 2017-2018.

Proposed events for 2017-2018 include a Read-A-Thon, Pizza Delivery by the staff night, and

continued use of the Box Top program and My Coke Rewards. Any parent interested in

participating in the PAC are asked to contact your child’s office.

Empowering All Students To Succeed In A Changing World

Students Learning and

Celebrating Character

Mountain View and West Elementary School will

again being learning about the pillars of character

through our Character Counts Curriculum.

Monthly lessons delivered by our school

counselors, Ms. Stephan at Mountain View, and

Mrs. Scott at West.

Do what you are supposed to do; plan ahead; persevere: keep on trying! Always do

your best, use self-control; think before you act; be accountable for your words,

actions, and attitudes.

Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule; be tolerant and accepting of

differences; use good manners; not bad language; be considerate of the feelings of

others; don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone; deal peacefully with anger, insults, and

disagreements.

Do your share to make your school and community better; cooperate; get involved in

community affairs; stay informed; be a good neighbor; obey laws and rules; respect

authority.

Be kind; be compassionate and show you care; express gratitude; forgive others;

help people in need.

Be honest, don’t deceive, cheat, or steal; be reliable; have courage to do the right

thing.

Play by the rules; take turns and share; be open-minded; listen to others; don’t

blame others carelessly; treat all people fairly.

Caring